The Greenville-West Salem Township Police Department will run its lockup until borough council approves a proposed takeover by the Mercer County Regional Council of Governments.

Greenville Mayor Clifford Harriger told the COG board a week ago there would be "no money to run the lockup as of 4 p.m. (last) Friday" and asked COG to take over operation of the jail.

Sgt. Thomas Strahler, acting police chief, said the lockup has remained open and under department control since Friday afternoon.

The COG board OK'd the proposed takeover last week, but borough council also needs to approve the move. Council is likely to discuss the takeover during its agenda meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, said Borough Manager Kenneth S. Weaver.

Weaver said the borough has enough money to keep the lockup running until a decision is reached by council.

Six part-time dispatcher/jail attendant jobs would be eliminated in the takeover, according to Strahler.

Strahler said borough officials had been considering eliminating the positions before this year, but council kept enough money in the budget for the employees through the first few months of the year.

Council has budged about $36,000 a year in the past to pay the part-timers. Under the takeover proposal, COG would pay on-call jail attendants instead.

Strahler said preliminary number-crunching shows that costs to pay jail attendants could be cut in half if arrests stay about the same as last year. The lockup housed 368 prisoners last year, 170 of them arrested by Greenville-West Salem police.

The borough, however, would have to pay an hourly rate to house prisoners in the lockup in the Greenville Borough Building.